NBA urges members to be calm over judgment annulling its 2015 constitution

The Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) has urged its members to remain calm over the judgment of an Abuja Federal High Court which annulled the constitution adopted at its Annual General Meeting in August 2015.

The association made the call in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Abuja by Mr Isiaka Olagunju, NBA’s General Secretary.

Olagunju said that the association was yet to receive a copy of the judgment.

He assured that NBA has constituted a team comprising very senior and capable legal practitioners to represent it and if necessary to the appeal against the decision.

“The Nigerian Bar Association has not received a full copy of the judgment. However, we have been briefed by the counsel that represented the defendants in the suit, the Incorporated Trustees of the Nigerian Bar Association,” he said.

Olagunju also maintained that neither the NBA nor any of its officers was a party to the suit in question, adding that the counsel to the Incorporated Trustees of the NBA had already appealed the decision.

“The NBA will like to reiterate that neither the NBA President, nor any of the national officers or indeed any of the leadership of the 125 Branches nationwide that were elected into office under the 2015 Constitution was a party to these proceedings.

“None of them has been served with any order of court affecting the conduct of any office of the NBA.

“In the absence of this, the NBA directs all its officers across the 125 branches nationwide and all other officers at the national level to continue to discharge their responsibilities.”

NAN reports that a judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja, delivered on March 30 by Justice John Tsoho annulled the Constitution of the Association passed at its Annual General Meeting in August 2015.

The court similarly annulled the association’s two previous constitutions.

The suit was instituted by one Olasupo Ojo against the Incorporated Trustees of the Nigerian Bar Association. (NAN)